Spirited Away Again
by Chi Yagami
Summary: Chihiro's parents died and she's lost her memory. Somehow, she's drawn back to the spirit world and embarks on a mission to save Haku from a mysterious kidnapper. One of my first fanfics...
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Spirited Away. They belong to Mr. Miyazaki & Studio Ghibli.

Author's Note: This story was created in June 2003, four hours after I saw Spirited Away for the first time. Please read and review!

* * *

**Spirited Away Again **

By: Chi Yagami

* * *

**Prologue**

Once there was a place, a place so magical that if Merlin himself entered, even _he_ would be astounded. This place wasn't currently open to the public, though it may have been once because it used to be a theme park. It is hidden deep in a forest that only has one road made of dirt.

To get there, you'd have to get on the freeway and head north. You would then get off at Exit 35. As soon as you get off, you'd see a tiny dirt path made by tire tracks. Follow these tracks, and you should reach the entrance of a tunnel with a statue placed in front of it.

It is at this very place that so many people chose to leave their lives behind and venture out into the unknown. You could've been next, too, if you had arrived a year ago. Now no one could find it. You see, the road that could be seen from the freeway was now gone. Several trees hid it from view, so that no one else would make the great mistake, like the thousands of others who did.

The only good thing that can come out of going into that tunnel is the view. As soon as you come out on the other side, you see a great massive stretch of grass. Further on are the main buildings, which include the restaurants, the clock temple, and the bathhouse.

There are a lot of restaurants. Everywhere you look, there is another café. Many people who came here smelled food and went looking for it. However, the food is cursed. Whoever eats the food, is turned into a pig. The more food you eat, the bigger pig you'll be.

If night should come, and you haven't eaten any food, the spirits will find you, catch you, take you to their master, and then she'll turn you into an animal or a piece of coal. Yubaba hates to have humans around. Unless…

Unless… you get a job. If the spirits should take you to her, ask for a job; she can't refuse. However, Yubaba isn't the head-honcho anymore, and things have changed quite a bit since the last time someone came, which was about a year ago…


	2. Chapter 1

** Disclaimer:** I do not own _Spirited Away_. If I did, Haku would be my bodyguard.

Author's Notes: Finally, we reach the 1st chapter! Thank you, angelic-fualuna, for reviewing!

As for you, Yami, have you found a life? **Yes…A cursed one doomed for eternity to spend it with you!** Oh stop freaking out.

* * *

**Spirited Away Again**

By: Chi Yagami

* * *

**Chapter 1**

"Chihiro! Come on, Chihiro! It's getting late." Barbara Ajaxum didn't like to hurry her niece along, but this was getting ridiculous.

"Just a minute!" Chihiro called back to her aunt. "I'm sure it's here! Only, I thought that this was supposed to be a river. Uncle George, are you sure that 'Haku' refers to the Kohaku River?"

"I'm positive," replied George Ajaxum. "I remember reading in the newspaper that a huge flood suddenly appeared in the Kohaku River, knocking down the apartment buildings.

"Yah, I know it's strange," her uncle continued. "Only a couple days after you and your parents moved into town, a big flood occurred. Weather men said that snow from the mountains must have melted and somehow flowed down into this riverbed."

"But Uncle George," Chihiro responded, "I thought the snow didn't start melting until mid July."

"It doesn't, and that's the strange thing."

"George, it's getting late. Don't you think we should be heading back? We have a long way to go."

"Coming, Barbara. Just give me five minutes." His wife slumped up against the car and frowned.

"Now," Uncle George said as he turned to Chihiro, "you have five minutes to look around once more for this Hugo thing-"

"Haku. Its name is Haku."

"All right, you have five minutes to look for this _Haku_, and if you don't find it tonight, we'll come back next weekend. Deal?"

"Promise?" Chihiro asked.

"I promise," her uncle replied smiling. Chihiro smiled, too. Then she turned and ran down the riverbed farther.

"Don't go too far," her uncle called after her. Chihiro knew her aunt and uncle meant well, but couldn't they see how important this was to her? Finding Haku would bring back the joy and happiness she used to have, that strength and power within her. It would bring back her memory that she used to have; the memory she had before the accident.

The accident happened a month after she and her parents had moved into their new home, just three blocks down from her uncle and aunt's house. They had told her everything they had seen during the accident.

Supposedly, she and her parents had gone fishing that day with her aunt and uncle. In the morning, the family loaded onto two boats: Chihiro, her mother, and her father in one boat, and her uncle and aunt in another.

The day had been going well by noon, when the family hooked their boats together and had lunch out on the lake. The sky had begun to darken, but there were no signs of a thunderstorm anywhere. After they had finished eating, the family had unhooked their boats and began fishing again

Suddenly, as if it had happened on purpose, lightning came out of the sky and struck Chihiro's boat. Her relatives say that they saw her body fly off the boat and hit her head on a pile of rocks nearby. Then her parents had jumped off the boat and tried to grab her uncle's hand, but were swept away with the current towards a huger pile of rocks.

Her relatives said that it was a miracle when the doctor told them Chihiro was alive. That part Chihiro could remember like it was yesterday.

She had struggled to open her eyes. When she finally managed, Chihiro had found that she was surrounded by people.

"Who are you?" she had asked. "What are we doing here? Where am I?"

Her aunt and uncle had tried to identify themselves, but it didn't seem to work. She'd had no idea who they were.

"You're my relatives?"

"Yes," they had answered hopefully.

"Haku!" had been the next thing she said.

"What's 'Haku?'" the doctor had asked.

"Chihiro, what's Haku?" her relatives had asked. That was when the weird thing happened.

"Who, me? My name's Sen," she had replied.

Even today, Chihiro believed that her real name was Sen. The doctors had finally concluded that her memory bank had been permanently damaged. She would never remember anything before waking up in the hospital. Her aunt and uncle called her Chihiro and so did the kids at school.

She had finally settled into this new life six months ago. However, last weekend, she woke up from a nightmare screaming "Haku! Haku!"

The dream had been strange. She was flying on the back of a white dragon when suddenly they burned up, and she woke up screaming.

Uncle George had looked up "Haku" in a word meaning book, and found that it meant "Kohaku River."

Earlier today, her relatives had agreed that at five o'clock, they would go to the Kohaku River and search for this Haku. Now Chihiro was searching frantically all around for anything that reminded her of a Haku.

"Chihiro, time's up!" her uncle called.

"I'm coming," she called back. The search for Haku would have to wait until next weekend. She didn't blame her relatives, though. They lived a long way from the Kohaku River.

As she turned to leave, Chihiro felt a tug on her hair. A branch from a tree had pulled out her hair-tie. It was pretty strange how she'd gotten it. Her relatives told her that she had told them once that her granny had given it to her and that it was lucky. The funny thing, however, was that both of Chihiro's grand parents were dead.

"I was starting to think that you weren't coming," her uncle said as Chihiro climbed into the truck.

"My hair got stuck," Chihiro replied.

"Now remember, Chihiro, go right to sleep. You've been up late and you have school tomorrow."

"I know," Chihiro replied sulkily.

* * *

The first half of the next day flew by so fast that Chihiro wondered if she was starting to lose her memory again. By recess, Chihiro was quite sure she was having memory problems, because she couldn't even remember what she'd eaten for lunch.

Chihiro had just sat down on a bench to watch the other children play, when a huge gust of wind blew over the playground. It was so strong that it pulled out her lucky hair-tie. Chihiro gasped as she saw it float over the fence. She got up and ran after it.

"Where are you going? You're not allowed to leave school grounds," said a teacher.

"I don't care!" shouted Chihiro as she jumped over the fence. "I've got to get my lucky hair-tie!" Chihiro could hear the teacher yelling at her to come back as she raced into the woods behind the school. She could hear the sounds of cars passing by on the freeway on the other side of the woods.

Chihiro ran through the woods searching desperately for the hair-tie. She stopped when she saw a dirt road in front of her that was heading west or east. She glanced down and spotted the hair-tie. She quickly tied back her hair and looked to the west.

"Well," she said, "no point in going that way." She was right. To the west, the road stopped at the foot of a few trees, and behind that she could see a little bit of the freeway.

"Okay then, east it is," she said to herself. She walked along the dirt road looking all around her until she finally saw something interesting. On her right was the most bizarre statue she'd ever seen. It looked sort of like a mixture of Humpty-Dumpty and a snowman. Chihiro had the strangest feeling that the statue wasn't there for greetings but for warnings.

Chihiro began feeling tired. It seemed like it had been hours ago when she passed the bizarre statue. She was just about to give up when she heard a voice.

"Call me Granny…"

The voice echoed in her head. It sounded like an elderly woman. Chihiro started running down the path, hoping to see an old woman of some sort. She ran faster and faster down the road. The faster she ran, the bumpier the road seemed to get.

Chihiro stopped to rest herself. When she looked up, she knew her brain was going crazy. In front of her was an old pink building with a tunnel running through it. In front of the entrance was another one of those weird statues Chihiro had seen earlier while on the road. She had the strangest feeling she'd been here before.

Chihiro stepped towards the tunnel and gasped. She somehow knew that this place used to be an amusement park.

"I guess my parents took me here once," Chihiro said out loud, "but I have a strange feeling about going in that tunnel. Hey! Maybe the old woman's on the other side!"

She walked around the statue and into the tunnel. She couldn't see where it ended. After what seemed like hours to her, Chihiro came to the end of the tunnel. It opened up into a big room filled with benches. Chihiro thought the room belonged somewhere in a church. Then she noticed a doorway leading out of the room to the outside. She approached the doorway cautiously and peered out. It was nightfall. A field of grass covered with the statues lay before her. She decided to explore.

Suddenly, the wind blew a breeze into the room, and something rattled behind her. Chihiro turned and screamed.

Three skeletons were chained to the wall left of her, and they all wore signs that said, "BEWARE."


	3. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** =P

Author's Notes: Come on people, you know you wanna review it! And a special thanx to Kimberly Ador D for emailing me!

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**Chapter 2**

* * *

At last, the train stopped and he could get off the smelly thing. Haku preferably didn't like the train, but train tickets were the only kind of tickets Kamaji had. Also, the train was the only vehicle available, and Haku couldn't very well fly there. People and spirits everywhere would see him, and this mission was supposed to be secret.

Haku stepped off the train and watched it drive away. Then he headed down the road.

Although Haku would've rather changed into a dragon and flown to Zeniba's house, he couldn't really change much anymore. Something had happened to him. Once fearless and determined, Haku was now sad and lonely. He knew something was missing, but he didn't want to admit what it truly was, or everyone would know that he was not a brave young man, but a little lovesick puppy dog that had been kicked around too much.

He told the other workers that he was depressed because of the fact that he wasn't called "Master Haku" anymore. Ever since Yubaba had been thrown out of office and Zeniba took her place, Haku had been Zeniba's nephew's teacher, not a henchman.

However, Haku knew the real reason why he was depressed. Ever since Chihiro had left, Haku had been down in the dumps. She was the only one who really cared for him. Kamaji took care of him, yes, but Chihiro did more than that. She saved his life. She rescued his soul from Yubaba's evil clutches. She risked her life for him. She cared for him even though he gave her nothing in return, something Kamaji called "true love." Haku didn't know exactly what true love was, but every time he thought of Chihiro, his heart skipped a beat.

Zeniba was the only one who knew about his true feelings towards Chihiro. She had helped him try to recreate Kohaku River so that he could return to being the river spirit and be with Chihiro again. Unfortunately, Haku was unable to create the exact amount of water. He went overboard and the river flooded. The flood would've caused a big scene in the human world, so Haku was unable to return.

The next time he was ready, the river had already dried up, and Haku didn't have enough magic left to create another river, so he just had to hope for a miracle if he ever wanted to see Chihiro again.

Haku finally reached Zeniba's house and sighed. This was it. He was going to tell her about the dream he had last night. The only thing that happened in the dream was that he and Chihiro kissed. It was strange, but he knew it meant something.

As he knocked on her door, Haku began to feel stupid. He told himself that Chihiro would probably never come back and he should just forget about her. The door opened and Haku walked in.

"Hello! Zeniba! It's me, Haku!"

"I know who it is," someone said from behind him. Haku turned around and gasped.

"Yubaba!"

* * *

"Why do I always have to be the one to get the life-risking jobs? First I had to take Sen to Yubaba, then Haku dumped her with me, and now I have to fetch No-Face?"

"Control yourself, Lin. You know that if Haku was here I'd have him go do it, but he's the one in trouble," Zeniba replied. Good help was getting so hard to find.

"Where is No-Face?" Lin asked, afraid of the answer.

"He's planting flowers in a field near the cottage. He needs someone who he's familiar with…"

"But I-"

"Someone who knows Chihiro."

Lin hastily walked down the hall towards the boiler room. She knew Kamaji would give her a ticket so that she could find No-Face and tell him to stay at the cottage and that everything would be all right.

Lin was one of the many people who worked in the bathhouse. Lin looked like a human, but appearances can be deceiving. She was actually a spirit, sort of. She and many others were created in the bathhouse by Yubaba for one reason: to work.

The spirit world appeared over a million years ago. Back then, it was a place where spirits roamed the land because in the human world they were considered evil ghosts. However, the buildings only appeared two thousand years ago.

Yubaba was created from millions of evil spirits. She appeared about ten years before the first building was set up. Yubaba decided to take action. She built huge buildings and made it look like an abandoned theme park. She created people to do all the work while she sat back, relaxed, and enjoyed the show. Yubaba hated humans, and because she was a witch, she cast a spell on all the food so that if any humans should come and eat the food, they would turn into pigs.

One hundred years later, a man discovered it and brought many tourists. Unfortunately, most of them ate the food and turned into pigs. Those who didn't were either caught by Yubaba and turned into coal or vanished because they didn't eat some food from the spirit world. There is some food designed for the workers. That food doesn't turn people into pigs. If a human doesn't eat that food, they'll disappear forever.

Everything had been going Yubaba's way until last year, when Chihiro came. Chihiro freed everyone in the spirit world from Yubaba. Then Yubaba was banished to the Wong Forest. Zeniba took over and made peace. Everyone enjoyed doing his or her job. She also had trees planted in front of the road so that it couldn't be seen from the freeway.

Yubaba was furious so she decided to get revenge only a few days ago. She crept up to Zeniba's cottage one night when Zeniba was alone. No-Face, a kind but scary-looking spirit, was planting flowers in a nearby field. Yubaba captured Zeniba and turned her into a pocket watch so that she could keep track of her. Then Yubaba disguised herself as Zeniba so that she could rule again. Fortunately for her, Haku had gone on a mission a few days before, and she was glad to not have to deal with him. As soon as Yubaba took Zeniba's place, things started to get back to the way they were a year ago. Nobody asked her why she became so mean because if they did, she'd turn them into coal.

However, yesterday night, she could feel that Haku would be heading over to Zeniba's that night, so she undisguised herself at the house and waited to catch him. The next day, after she had kidnapped Haku and turned him into a dragon key-chain, she reported that Haku had been kidnapped. She told everyone that a black figure had jumped out of the sky and took him just after she opened the door to let him in. Now she was having Lin tell No-Face about it.

* * *

"Whew! I'm glad he didn't eat me!" Lin said to herself as she walked along the tracks. No-Face had been happy to stay at the cottage. Now Lin was heading back towards the bathhouse. It would be a long walk. The train only ran in one direction, and unlike Haku, Lin couldn't fly.

When Lin finally reached the bathhouse, it was the afternoon. Lin took a bath and ate lunch. Then she told Zeniba that she had completed her mission and that she was heading out to look at the grassy field. Lin packed a snack and walked towards the field. A year ago it had been completely covered in water. Now it was dry and grass could be seen.

Lin sat down on the stone steps and looked out towards the tunnel. She imagined what it would be like to escape from the bathhouse and travel. She'd always dreamed that one-day she would get on the train and go away, far away. Lin wished she was like Chihiro, and had a family she could go to. Instead, the only place she could go to for peace was the boiler room where Kamaji lived.

Kamaji looked like a mixture of a spider and a man. In fact, he was a mixture of a spider and a man. He was created when Yubaba fused a spider and a man together. Kamaji has six arms and two legs. His arms can stretch at least five miles!

Kamaji has workers heat the boilers for him. All he does is turn the crank, which allows the boiler vent to open and close. His workers are tiny soot balls. Kamaji cast a spell on them to make them alive. If they don't work, they'll turn back into soot. The boilers are what make the water in the bathhouse hot. If Kamaji and the soot balls weren't working the boilers, the bathhouse would go out of business.

* * *

Yubaba (disguised as Zeniba) laughed to herself quietly. Everything was going according to plan: Haku and the real Zeniba were out of the way, the memory she'd stolen was hidden safely away in its box, and the hair-tie plan was working perfectly. Suddenly, Yubaba smiled.

"She's here…"

* * *

Lin opened her eyes and stretched. It was almost nightfall. She'd be needed in a couple of hours. Lin started to get up but sat down again.

Across the field towards the tunnel, something was moving. Lin looked closer. It was a girl with a long brown ponytail. The girl was running towards her very fast. Suddenly, Lin recognized the girl.

"Chihiro?"


	4. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer:** …grrr…

Authors Notes: Thanx 2 all who reviewed!

* * *

**Chapter 3**

* * *

Chihiro was too afraid to move. Those skulls were ugly and hideous. Finally, she found her strength. She ran out of the room and across the field of grass with the strange statues. She kept looking behind her. Chihiro was running so fast and wasn't looking where she was going that she crashed into a woman.

"Ouch," they both said at the same time. Lin was the first to recover.

"Chihiro? Is that really you? Oh, thank heavens! Zeniba will be so glad to see you!"

"Zeniba?" Chihiro asked. She'd never heard of Zeniba.

"Yes! No one can find Haku-"

"Haku?" Chihiro interrupted. She had finally found it-

* * *

Yubaba snapped her fingers.

* * *

"-Yes, Haku," Lin continued. "Oh, I must take you to Zeniba right away!"

Lin dragged Chihiro through a strip center that had nothing but restaurants in it. Chihiro wondered why a theme park would only have restaurants.

The strangest part, though, was that the restaurants weren't filled with people, but with _spirits_. At least that's what Chihiro thought they looked like. Lin hurried her along through the cluster of spirits. They stopped in front of what looked like a gigantic bathhouse.

"Come on, this way," said Lin as she urged Chihiro forward. Lin took her on one elevator and then another. Everywhere they went, people or frogs stopped whatever they had been doing and stared at Chihiro.

"Welcome back, Chihiro!"

"Nice to see you again, Chihiro!"

"Lin," Chihiro asked, "why do all of these creatures know my name?"

"Don't play stupid with me," Lin replied. "Now come on!"

"You're all on your own now," Lin told Chihiro as she left her on the top floor and got back into the elevator. In another second, she was gone.

"But wait!" Chihiro called after her. "What am I … supposed… to … do?" Chihiro sat down on the steps in front of a humongous door and began to cry.

Suddenly, the door opened and a huge woman with a big head appeared. Chihiro knew her mind was playing tricks on her now. The woman was elderly, and her blonde hair was tied up in a bun on top of her head. She looked like an old witch.

"Why are you crying? Chihiro?" The woman gasped. Then she grabbed Chihiro by the hand and pulled her inside the hallway. The woman led Chihiro down several more hallways before pulling her into a room on the left.

"Have a seat, Chihiro, and tell me what's wrong," Yubaba said gently.

"Are you-" Chihiro began, but when Yubaba snapped her fingers, Chihiro stopped.

"Well, first tell me why you came back," Yubaba insisted. "Oh, by the way, I'm Zeniba. Of course you already knew that. "

"I did? And what do you mean by 'tell me why you came back?' I don't think I've ever been here before," Chihiro implied.

"Chihiro, don't you remember?"

"Well, I could've been here before, but you see, my parents and I got in an accident, and now I live with my aunt and uncle. During the accident, my head hit a rock and permanently damaged my memory bank. Well, that's what my relatives told me anyways. I can't remember anything before waking up in a hospital, except the fact that my real name is-"

Yubaba snapped her fingers.

"Yes?" she asked Chihiro.

"-Chihiro," said Chihiro with some disbelief. "My name is Chihiro. What? What's happening to me? I'm disappearing!"

"Quick!" said Yubaba. "Eat this!" She gave Chihiro a dumpling. Chihiro quickly ate it. Her see-through hands began to look solid again.

"If you don't eat some of our food," Yubaba explained, "you will vanish into thin air. Also, you are a human. Humans cannot stay here unless they take a job. Are you willing to take a job?"

"Yes ma'am," Chihiro replied. She had no idea what was going on, but she decided to go with the flow.

"Now," Yubaba continued, "sign here." She handed Chihiro a piece of paper. Chihiro signed it and gave it back. Yubaba looked at the paper. Slowly, Chihiro's name floated off of the paper and disappeared into Yubaba's hand.

"Okay," replied Chihiro.

"Now," said Yubaba, "to find you a job. Most of my good jobs have already been taken, so I'm going to have to give you a difficult job. Understand?"

"Yes," said Chihiro.

"Okay," said Yubaba, "I have one job here. My dear friend, Haku, has been kidnapped. I want you to return him to me. If you bring him back safe and sound, I will return you to your home.

"This piece of paper will help you. It has five clues that lead to the location of the real clues written on it. And here's your train ticket."

"What do I do with it?" Chihiro asked, confused by everything the old lady was saying.

"Chihiro," Yubaba said, "when you get on the train, tell the man you are going to the gold mine; that's where the first clue is. See, the clue is 'something only a fool would look for' and the gold mine is full of fool's gold!

"If the man refuses, give him this," said Yubaba as she handed Chihiro a slip of paper with her signature on it. "Then he'll believe you."

"But, Zeniba," persisted Chihiro, "I don't have a map of this world."

"You're right! Here take this one. Now off you go! Have fun!" she called as Chihiro left.

"Yes…" she said as soon as she knew that Chihiro had left the building. "Have fun … while you still can!" She began to cackle.

* * *

Chihiro had no problem finding the train. She gave the train conductor her ticket and took a seat. She took out the map.

"Hmm…" Chihiro said to herself, "the gold mine is the next stop, and that's where one of the clues is located." The train stopped and they all got off. Chihiro looked ahead of her. A huge cave stretched across the land in front of her.

"Well, here goes, I guess…" Chihiro walked towards the mine tunnel. Gold shined all around her on the walls. It was only fool's gold, but the view of it was still beautiful.

Chihiro walked farther into the mine where it got darker and creepier. A beautiful young woman with black hair stepped out of the shadows.

"Hello," she said softly. "You must be Chihiro. You've been expected."

"I have? Who told you I was coming?"

"It doesn't matter now. You have a choice to make: you may either take a quiz to get the first clue to rescuing Haku, or you may return to your home." The woman was carrying a little cage with a cricket inside.

"You mean… I could go home? Just like that?" Chihiro asked, unable to believe what the young woman had just said.

"Yes. Make your choice," the woman replied. Chihiro was about to say she wanted to go home when she remembered that Zeniba was counting on her to bring Haku back. Zeniba was such a nice woman, and Chihiro knew that if she returned home, there would be a bunch of angry people waiting for an explanation of why she ran away from school.

"I… I would like to… I would like to take the quiz and get the first clue so that I may rescue Haku," Chihiro said to the woman, who looked startled that Chihiro didn't want to return home.

"I like you kid; you've got spunk. My name is Helene. Are you ready to take the quiz?"

"I guess," said Chihiro, not too sure of herself.

"Okay, first question: Who can spin straw into gold?"

"Uh… Oh wait, I know this… Is it…Rumpelstiltskin?" Chihiro guessed. Chihiro had the strangest feeling. Suddenly, she remembered her father reading the story to her once. It was about a man who spun straw into gold for a misunderstanding. A woman tricked him into telling her his name. Chihiro tried to remember more, but that was all she could think of.

"Correct! You got the first clue: Rumpelstiltskin!" cried Helene. She ran up and hugged Chihiro.

"I did? Yeah!" Chihiro said. Then she turned to Helene. "I'm on a mission, and I'd like very much if you'd come with me."

"Really? I'd love to!" Helene replied. She was supposed to stay, but she decided to disobey Yubaba's orders and join Chihiro.

"Well," Chihiro said, "the second clue refers to 'the mud man's house,' whatever that is."

"The mud man lives in a swamp full of mud. It's a horrible place, but I know how to get there," said Helene.

"Without riding the train?" Chihiro asked.

"Yes, without riding the train, but we'll have to walk through a small forest. Is that okay?" Helene questioned her new friend.

"It's fine with me. I just hope this Haku person is worth the trip."


	5. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer:** If it were mine, Chihiro & Haku would be married and Yubaba would be serving meatballs in some random school cafeteria. ^^

Author's Notes: This story's getting interesting! MWUAHAHAHA! Chihiro shall vanquish you, evil witch! *We hope…* Thanx 2 all who reviewed: Kimberly (sorry if I missed anyone)! If you want to read a Yuri poem, go read my _The Empty Cup_. I thank all who reviewed that: Reggaeshiko-tama, the poem IS creepy. I don't really like Yuri or Yaoi, I just wrote this for a friend. Deena70, dunno…just thought of it… Now…

* * *

**Chapter 4**

* * *

"That should hold you," Yubaba said with a laugh. Everything was ready. The only thing left to do was sit and wait.

"You'll never get away with this! And where's Zeniba?"

"My dear Haku, Zeniba is in good hands… my hands, that is!"

"Chihiro will find me! You'll see!" Haku replied with anger. He was partly angry because Chihiro had returned, but mostly it was because of Yubaba.

"I'll see… I'll see Chihiro fail to remember you!" Yubaba cackled.

"What do you mean?"

"Oh, that's right. You don't know. Chihiro can't remember anything before the accident when her parents died and her memory bank was damaged."

"What? How could that have happened?" asked Haku.

"By yours truly."

* * *

"I guess I should tell you a little more about myself, huh?"

"I don't know, but sure, go ahead," responded Chihiro.

"Well," Helene began, "it all begins with one simple fact: I'm Haku's sister." They walked into the forest that would lead them to the swamp.

"Haku has a sister? Why weren't you out there looking for him?" Chihiro asked as she stepped over a mushroom.

"Before Zeniba ruled, her evil sister named Yubaba was in charge. She put a curse on me so that I couldn't go out looking for Haku. But she said one thing that gave me hope. She said, 'The only way you can ever leave this cave and go looking for Haku is if someone asks you to.' Lucky thing you came along.

"Now, I'll explain it in more detail. A hundred years ago, Haku and I lived in the real world, where you're from. You see, I'm human, and so is Haku, or at least he _was_. We had a family and everything was going great, until one day.

"A couple of days before school started, Haku and I met an old woman. It was Yubaba, but off course at that time we didn't know that. The woman was trading wishes for people's most precious treasures. I said no thanks, but Haku asked how it worked. Yubaba said that you wished upon a magic stone. Then Haku asked how she got their precious treasure. She said that one day she'd just come up and take it away from you.

"The next day, Haku and I went to the river; the very river that used to be in the riverbed that you and your relatives were at. Suddenly, the river reached out and grabbed me. Haku tried to save me, but he couldn't, so he knelt down and prayed to river spirit. Even with all of his praying, I was lost. You see, I was Haku's most precious treasure. Haku thought Yubaba had meant possessions, not people.

"Then Haku did something foolish. He reached into his pocket and took out the wishing stone. He wished that he could be the river spirit so that he could save anyone else who would fall into the river. So Haku became the river spirit. His new name became Kohaku River. He forgot everything else, even about me. Yubaba then revealed herself to me and put me here to mine for real gold. She put a curse on me so that I didn't need food to live. It remained that way for ninety-seven years.

"Five years ago, however, humans drained Haku's river and he arrived here, since he's a spirit. He told Yubaba that his name was Kohaku River. She didn't want him to think about it, so she pretended to give him a new name, except it was his real name, Haku. I'm surprised he didn't remember anything.

"Then today, somebody told me I was the guardian of the first clue. They told me a Chihiro was coming and what I should do. Now I'm here with you!" Chihiro and Helene looked ahead. In front of them was a brown murky swamp.

"Is that where the mud man lives?" asked Chihiro.

"Yep," replied Helene. They started down the hill towards the quagmire.

"Helene?"

"Yes, Chihiro?"

"Have… Have I been here before? I mean, everyone seems to know me, but I don't know any of them."

"Chihiro," Helene began, but then she stopped. They had reached the swamp. A dark, murky bubble in the swamp began to grow until it was as tall as a tree and as wide as three people.

"WHO DISTURBS MY SLUMBER? I AM THE GREAT MUD MAN OF THE SEVEN SEAS!"

"Uh, one problem there, buddy," said Helene, not afraid of the mud monster at all. He looked at her. No one had ever spoken to him. They had all just run away whenever he spoke.

"WHAT?"

"You're not the great mud man of the seven seas. In fact, you're not even in a _sea_. You're in a _bog_! Now, we've come for the second clue that will help us find Haku."

"WHAT? YOU'RE NOT AFRAID OF ME? OH WELL… YOU WANT THE CLUE TO FINDING HAKU, DO YOU? WELL, THE LITTLE GIRL MUST SHOW THAT SHE'S TRULY DEDICATED TO FINDING HAKU!"

"What does he mean?" Chihiro asked Helene.

"Oh, mud man, how can Chihiro show you her determination?" asked Helene.

"CHIHIRO MUST CLEAN MY SWAMP!"

"Are you nuts?" Helene replied. "This is a _swamp_ for crying out loud! It's _supposed_ to be dirty! You better-"

"It's okay, Helene. I'll clean the mud man's swamp."

"WHAT?" they both said at the same time, one shocked and one happy.

"You see, sometimes I have these weird dreams. Once, I dreamed about a white dragon. And yesterday, I had the best dream that I can remember.

"I was running from something; I can't remember what. There was a cackle and then I fell down. I remember hearing a voice saying, '…and remember Chihiro, I'm you're friend.' Then I looked up and saw the most… Well, I don't know how to describe it, but there was a boy. He had the most beautiful green eyes I've ever seen. Then he disappeared, and I woke up." Somebody started to cry. Chihiro turned around.

"THAT'S THE SADDEST STORY I'VE EVER HEARD. GO AHEAD, HERE'S THE SECOND CLUE: ME."

"You're… You're just giving it to us? Uh… thanks. Bye!" Chihiro and Helene left. Chihiro looked back and waved. The mud man had been nice. He was probably just lonely.

"Uh, the next clue says, 'you are the dolls: beware.' What does that mean?" Helene asked.

"Hmm…" said Chihiro as she pulled out her map. "The only place that I know of that dolls would be is in a doll house." Helene gasped and grabbed the map.

"Uh oh," said Helene. She had a grave look on her face. "There is a place in the Yuvaleville Village. It is a house as huge as the bathhouse, only bigger. Giants live there. To them, we are but a child's mere play thing: a doll."

"So we have to go _there_?" Chihiro asked, even though she knew the answer. "How are we going to get there?"

"We'll walk; it's not that far."

* * *

"Excuse me, do you know where we can find the giant's house?" Several people shrieked. Everyone in the market stopped what they were doing and looked at the young woman and the little girl.

"Are you crazy?" one man cried. "The giants will eat you for breakfast! If you really want to risk your lives, go north. Of course if I were you, I'd already be dead just thinking about the _idea_ of going up there!"

"Helene," Chihiro said as they approached the humongous house, "are the giants… mean?"

"I don't know," she replied. "I've never met one before." They stopped and looked at the house. It was as tall as Mt. Fuji.

"Come on," said Helene, pointing to the vine wall that crept up the side of the house. "We've got to get into that dollhouse!" Chihiro looked up. The bottom floor window looked so far away, and the second floor window looked like the moon! Chihiro could see little pink curtains fluttering in and out of the open window.

"Hey, Helene, I think that window with the pink curtains could be a little girl's room," Chihiro pointed out. They began climbing. When they reached the first window, Chihiro peeked in and saw a big, beefy man sitting on the hugest chair she'd ever seen. Everything else in the room was big, too. There was a young boy playing with several trucks the size of houses.

"Let's keep going," Chihiro said. They climbed for another hour. They finally grabbed a hold of the windowsill and slipped inside. In a corner next to the door was an old Victorian style house.

"OKAY MOM! I'M GOING BACK TO PLAYING WITH MY DOLLS!" Chihiro and Helene lay on the floor as stiff as they could.

"OOOOOH! NEW DOLLIES! GOODIE!" A huge girl picked them up. "WELCOME," she said with an evil smile. "LET'S HAVE FUN…"


	6. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer:** …grrr…

Author's Notes: on w/the story!

* * *

**Chapter 5**

* * *

Haku stared at the ground. In the water he could see his own reflection staring back at him. Part of him felt stupid, while the other part felt irate. A single tear dropped into the puddle of water Yubaba had offered him and he refused. She had willingly poured it onto the ground right in front of his face.

It was the first time he had ever cried in his life. He wasn't crying for himself, but for Chihiro. He wished he could just break out of here and rescue her before she got herself killed. However, she probably wouldn't even recognize him.

He looked around him for anything useful and started to raise his hands when he remembered that Yubaba had made his cell magic-proof. The empty can sat on the bench next to him. There were a few old chains lying on the floor across the room.

Haku placed his bare foot in the water and wished with all his heart that Chihiro could at least see the room he was in. Then maybe she'd have a chance.

* * *

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Chihiro grabbed her head with her hands.

"Shhhhhhh!" said the others. "You'll wake up Miss Alice!"

"Sorry," Chihiro managed. It was just that her head hurt so badly.

"Chihiro? What's wrong?" Chihiro turned to see Helene creeping into the room. "What happened?"

"I saw something: a room with chains in it. Then my head started hurting. I'm sorry; I didn't mean to wake everyone else up, especially Miss Alice."

Chihiro and Helene had been living the life of a doll for the whole day. There were eleven other dolls in the house: a mother, a father, a nanny, a little boy, two twins, a grandma, a grandpa, an aunt, an uncle, and a cook. None of them were related except for the young boy and the nanny. Everyone else had just unknowingly walked into the yard of the girl's house, and unfortunately had been caught. They all had been renamed Mom, Uncle, or some other part of the family.

Chihiro was the child. Her parents were the mother and father of the dollhouse. Helene had been named the maid. She was forced to clean the dusty rooms and furniture pieces.

"A room with chains? I wonder what that could mean?" Helene asked thoughtfully. "Perhaps it is the location of our next clue…"

"But, Helene," said Chihiro, "the next clue says, 'you're almost there; your life at stake. While now the ground begins to quake.'"

"Never mind. I know where that is. There's a spot a couple miles from here, where plates inside the earth smash against each other and cause earthquakes."

"What are y'all doing up?" said a small voice from behind them. Chihiro and Helene turned to see the little boy coming into the room. It was the nanny's grandson. He was carrying his blanket and sucking his thumb.

"Danny! We thought you'd be asleep by now," said Helene gently. "What are you doing?"

"What are y'all talking about?" he asked.

"Just something. Nothing you'd understand," said Chihiro, careful not to hurt his feelings.

"Are y'all talking about Haku?"

It was as if someone had just thrown a baseball through a window. They both looked at him, not knowing what to say or do. Luckily, he spoke first.

"If you want to know about the clue, I'll tell you. But… you have to do something for me in return."

"What do you want?" asked Chihiro.

"I want to come along with you guys," Danny replied. "I want to get out of this place. I want to see the world. Most of all, however, I want to find my brother."

"Your brother?" they both asked.

"Yeah, my brother Phillip. He was lost during an earthquake a couple of days ago. I overheard y'all talking about earthquakes, and I knew that this would be the right moment to bring the conversation around."

"You promise, that if we bring you along, you'll tell us the clue that's hidden here?" asked Chihiro.

"I promise. Now here," he said, as he took out a very long rope of Kleenexes tied together. "We can use this to get out of the window."

"Why can't we just climb down the vines?" asked Helene.

"That window is closed at night, but the side window's always open. Unfortunately, there aren't any vines growing up that side of the house," was his reply. They went over to the window and threw the Kleenex rope down.

"I'll go first," volunteered Helene. She placed the end of the rope underneath a book that was lying near the window. Then she jumped up on the windowsill and started climbing down. Chihiro went next, and Danny brought up the rear. As soon as all of them were on the ground, they followed Helene towards the earthquake area. They talked while they walked.

"Well, the clue is… You know Miss Alice, right? Describe her to me," said Danny.

"She's large, mean, strange…"

"Strange!" cried Danny. "Now, what's the opposite of strange?"

"Uh," said Chihiro, "ordinary?" Danny jumped up and down.

"Yes! The third clue is ordinary. What are the other clues so far?"

"Let's see," said Helene. "The first one was Rumpelstiltskin, the second one was… Oh! It was the mud man! And now we have ordinary!"

They had reached the earthquakes. A long, flat piece of land stretched out in front of them. They could feel the ground moving beneath them. The ground was cracked, and the land was dry and hot.

"Help!" cried a voice. "Somebody please help me!" Chihiro looked across the flat land and saw something else.

"Look!" she cried. "A canyon!" They ran until they reached the edge of a large canyon. When Chihiro looked down, she gasped. The canyon was full of lava! There was something else down there, too.

A boy was clinging to a root that was sticking out of some rocks on the side of the canyon. He was crying for help because with every moment, the lava grew higher. He only had a couple of minutes before the lava would reach him, and then he'd be toast.

"Hold on," Chihiro called to him, "we're coming!" Chihiro pulled out part of the rope that Danny had managed to save and threw it over the side of the canyon. Then she started climbing down.

"Be careful!" shouted Helene. "We can't afford to lose you!" Chihiro grinned and gave her a two-thumbs-up. Then she turned back to the boy.

"Grab onto the rope!" she shouted. He looked up and snatched the rope. "Danny, Helene, pull!" The other two pulled the rope up while Chihiro and the boy held on. When everyone was safe and sound, the boy managed to speak.

"Thank you all for saving my life. I thought no one would ever come! My name's Phillip, by the way," the boy said. Then he noticed Danny staring at him. Danny ran to him and threw his arms around his brother. Phillip, realizing who Danny was, hugged him back.

"I thought you were dead," said Danny, as he began to cry, "but you're alive! I wish Granny was here!"

"Danny," said Phillip reassuringly, "I'm fine, really."

"Hi," said Chihiro. "My name's Chihiro, and that's Helene over there."

"Hi," Phillip said back. "I want to thank you for watching over my little brother. It makes me happy to know that he has friends that are watching out for him."

"Um, Phillip," said Chihiro, "do you know where we could find someone who knows about a clue to Haku's whereabouts?"

"So, you've come for the clue, eh? Well, you're not getting it until you take my brother and me home to Settee City. It should be on your map." Chihiro couldn't argue, so the four of them walked north, which was where the map showed was the nearest train station.

"The train should be here any minute now," said Phillip. They were waiting on the platform. Phillip had handed everyone a ticket.

"The next clue says, 'on the ground is where you stand, but watch out you'll sink, as quick as sand.'"

"So," said Helene, "we need to go to the Ethiopian Desert."

"Hey," said Danny, "there's the train!" The train was yellow and sort of melancholy looking. It was as if the train had a life of its own, but was being forced to carry passengers to and fro.

The ticket man took their tickets: two to Ethiopian Desert and two to Settee City. They all sat down on a blue bench next to the window. Chihiro noticed that this was a different train than the one that had taken her to the gold mine.

"Helene," Chihiro began, "why isn't this the same train as the one I took to get to the gold mine?"

"Well, you see, a long time ago, the train-"

"-used to run both directions. Now it only goes one," Chihiro finished for her.

"How do you know that? Maybe… Maybe you're remembering! Can you think of anything else?" Helene asked hopefully.

"No, nothing else…" Chihiro said sadly. The train stopped.

"We have to go now, okay?" said Helene. They hugged their good-byes. Then Phillip and Danny watched Helene and Chihiro get off the train.

"By the way," Phillip shouted at the girls, "the clue is 'cottage.'"


	7. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer:** blahblahblahblah

Author's Notes: Thanx 2 all who reviewed. This story's coming to an end soon.

* * *

**Chapter 6**

* * *

"Are we having fun? Haku, you don't look happy? Why the long face? Oh yeah… You're all chained up!" The words were followed by a cackle. Yubaba loved to torture Haku. She knew that Chihiro would never remember who Haku was, and she'd made sure of that.

Yubaba was the one who had made lightning strike Chihiro's boat. It was revenge against Chihiro. Then, when no one was looking, she stole Chihiro's memory. Now it was kept safe in a box.

"You will pay," said Haku, his eyes never leaving the witch. "Chihiro will find me and you will pay!"

"Pay what? The toll for being evil?" Another cackle. Her words were like endless drumsticks, beating against his head, extracting every once of dignity within him. The malevolent swine would have her fun now, but it wouldn't be over until the fat woman had sung her last note.

"What some food? It's good for you. You'll starve to death before your lover even gets here!"

"Lover?" Haku knew of his existing feelings, but Chihiro felt the same?

"Yes," Yubaba continued, "she-

"You mean to tell me that you think Chihiro is in love with you? She may love you, but she's not _in_ love with you." A third cackle.

"Shut up! I don't want to hear anymore!" Haku couldn't stand it any longer. He was tired of hearing Yubaba's scoffs and taunts.

"Fine suit yourself," Yubaba said. Then she left the room cackling to herself. He heard the door lock.

Haku wondered if Chihiro was dead. But he couldn't think about that; he had to keep hoping. Without hope, Haku was afraid he'd lose his sanity.

Instead, he decided to think about the time when he was a river. He couldn't remember anything before being a river spirit. He guessed he was born a spirit, but-

"Wow, Mom, it's a peanut butter and jelly sandwich! Are we having it for lunch?"

-A vision of a hand grasping a peanut butter and jelly sandwich flashed through his mind. Haku wondered why. Perhaps a young child had said that before he fell into the river. However, the only child Haku could remember falling into his river was Chihiro, and she had a pink shoe, not a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

Haku thought of the time that they had crossed the bridge. Chihiro had almost made it, until Cricket the frog had jumped up and startled her. Haku wished he had never decided to be Yubaba's henchman. Although if it wasn't for that, none of this would've ever happened.

Haku wondered about the dragon king. The dragon king knew about every dragon, even he was part god. Surely the dragon king would've noticed by now that Haku was missing.

He also wondered if, when Chihiro returned to the human world, he'd be able to see her ever again. He thought about marrying her, but then realized that today's customs might be different then when he used to be the river spirit.

Maybe he could come to the human world even though he had no river to go to. Perhaps he could find a new river to guard. Or maybe the dragon king would give him his river back. Whatever happened to him in the future, he hoped it would be with Chihiro.

* * *

"This is it," said Helene. She and Chihiro watched the train disappear out of sight.

"It looks like a dead beach," said Chihiro. The only things other than sand that she could see for miles were cacti.

"At least we made it," said Helene, taking a breath of scorching, barren air.

"Yeah," agreed Chihiro. "Wonder who's got the clue this time."

"We need to find some quick sand," indicated Helene, "because it specifically says that in the clue. I guess we'd better get going, although it seems useless to look for anything out here. It's completely flat."

But they began the long walk across the path to nowhere anyways.


	8. Chapter 7

Author's Notes/**Disclaimer:** ::poutpout:: ^^

This was 7 pages in Word…

* * *

**Chapter 7**

* * *

"Chihiro," Helene said as they walked across the desert, "do you even remember anything before the accident?"

"Not that I can think of. I know what my parents looked like, but that is only because there are pictures of them in the house."

"Did Zeniba show you a picture of Haku before she sent you on this journey?" Helene asked. Chihiro shook her head.

"No, she told me to look for Haku."

"Can you remember ever thinking about Haku, I mean, before you came here?"

"No… Remember how you said Haku became the river spirit of the river that I was at the other day? How did you know I was there?"

"Well," Helene explained, "people in the spirit world can watch over people in the human world."

"Oh well. I don't remember why I was at the river anyways," Chihiro replied glumly. "For some reason, I can't remember certain things. I'd start to, but then it would be gone, as quick as it came. Except for my dreams."

"Perhaps-"

"Wait… I remember something from one of my dreams… There was blood everywhere… and then I remember seeing a boy. He was lying down… and he was bloody, too… and a man with six arms…"

Chihiro sighed. Perhaps she would never remember anything before the accident. Helene glanced at her and then back ahead. They'd been walking for hours, but they still hadn't gotten anywhere.

"Chihiro?" she asked.

"Hmm…" said Chihiro, not looking up. She was watching her feet.

"Isn't that the same cactus in the same place as when we got off the train? And-" Helene looked behind them.

"-aren't those the train tracks behind us?" Chihiro turned around, and, sure enough, the train tracks were only a couple of feet behind them. Their rusty metal glistened in the sun as if to say 'Ha, ha! You can't seem to find your way across the desert, while _we_ go on and on! Ha, ha!'

"Stop moving," commanded Helene. As soon as they stopped, they started moving backwards.

"Chihiro, what's happening? Why are we moving?"

"I don't know, but look!" She pointed to where the sand was carrying them. The sand seemed to be moving into one spot from all around them. The sand near the center would begin to sink.

"Quicksand!" screamed Helene, who was the first one to realize what was happening. "Quick! Run for your life!"

The two girls started running away, but because the sand beneath them was moving the other way, it was like they were running on a treadmill.

"Help!" Chihiro cried as the two girls, unable to resist, were pulled into the hole.

* * *

Yubaba frowned. Chihiro was close, too close. Yubaba hadn't expected her to come this far. Helene had failed to persuade Chihiro to go home, the mud man hadn't swallowed her up like he was supposed to, Danny had failed altogether, even though she knew he was too young for the job, and Phillip was too kind and soft to even think about pushing her into the lava.

"If you want something done right," she mumbled, "you have to do it yourself."

* * *

"Chihiro! Chihiro, wake up!" Chihiro opened her eyes and saw Helene looking at her with a sad but urging face.

"What… What happened?" she asked.

"Shhhh! I'm sorry, but I work for _him_ now," said Helene sadly. Chihiro opened her eyes farther and saw that Helene had chains on her wrists. Chihiro also noticed that she herself was chained to the wall. She looked around and saw that they were in a cave, which seemed to be made out of sand.

"Who is _he_?" she asked.

"The sand monster! He says-"

"I sa' you betta' get ova' here right na'. Leave that stupa' gill alone! Na' getcha' butt ova' here!"

Chihiro looked behind Helene and saw a mountain of sand. He had two eyes and a mouth. It reminded her of the mud monster.

"Are… Are you… _he_?" Chihiro asked, her shoulders shaking.

"Ya'! Now sha' up, puna' one! Helene, get ova' here!" the sand monster snapped at her. Chihiro had to do something, and fast.

"Please, isn't there anything I can do that will let Helene and me leave this place, accompanied by the fifth clue? Please, I'll do anything! Well, almost anything. Please!"

"Well… Actually, there is something: make me a house out of quick sand!" the sand monster said with a laugh. He knew she would fail because plenty of others had tried, and they had all failed, too. Chihiro smiled.

"Can I have your word on that?"

"I swear upon my life," he replied. "However, you only have an hour to do it. If you fail, you're next on the dinner menu."

Chihiro looked around, but all she could see was dried sand.

"Can I have some sand? I mean, can we go above ground?"

"Certainly," he said with a smile. With a little poof! they were above the sand monster's cavern. Chihiro looked around. Then she turned to the monster.

"May I have something to make the sand stay where I put it?" she asked. The monster nodded, and he gave her a bucket and a shovel.

Chihiro put some sand in a bucket and began. Soon after fifty-five minutes, a magnificent house was built.

"But wait," the monster said as he gave her a tiny red flag, "it must have a flag waving from somewhere on the roof."

Chihiro took the flag and stuck it in the chimney. But as soon as she let go, the house collapsed.

"Hey," said Helene, "that's not fair!"

"Don't worry," said Chihiro reassuringly. "I still have five minutes. May I have a square bucket, please?" The monster gave her one.

She filled it all the way to the top with sand. Then she dumped the bucket over onto the ground, making a block of sand. Chihiro drew a door and two windows on each side of house. Then she stuck the flag in the top.

"Okay, there's your sand house," she said promptly. "You never specified what size."

* * *

Yubaba slapped herself in the face. Chihiro had outsmarted even her. "Just you wait, Chihiro. You'll get what's coming to you; I can promise you that!" Then she began to cackle.

* * *

The sand monster melted away. Where he once stood was a sandwich with a toothpick stuck in it. Stuck on the toothpick was a piece of paper that said, 'the clue is the sandwich.'

"Yes! Helene, come over here! Helene?" Chihiro looked around, but her friend was nowhere to be found.

"Oh no!" she gasped. "Helene's still in the monster's cave!" Chihiro looked around, but since the sand monster had left, the desert had returned to normal. The hole in which they had originally fallen through was now gone.

Chihiro picked up the shovel and ran over to where the hole used to be. Then she began to dig. She dug for three hours until she finally fell through.

"Ouch!" Chihiro looked around. Helene was lying on the floor, and the chains that had been on her wrists were now gone. She ran to her friend.

"Helene! Helene, wake up! Come on, the monster's gone now," Chihiro said. Helene blinked and opened her eyes wide.

"You… You built the sand castle?" she asked. Helene sat up, wide-awake now. "But… How did you do it?"

"Never mind," replied Chihiro. "We now have all five clues: Rumpelstiltskin, mud, ordinary, cottage, and sandwich."

"But," said Helene curiously, "what do they all add up to?"

"Well, let's see… Rumpelstiltskin spun straw into gold, right? So maybe the thief knows how to sew. What do you think?" Chihiro asked.

"Well," said the other, "the mud man lived in a swamp. Maybe the thief who can sew lives in a swamp?"

"Perhaps it's an ordinary swamp-"

"And there's a cottage in the swamp-"

"And the thief likes to eat sandwiches!" They both fell over laughing their heads off.

"Well," said Chihiro once she'd calmed down enough to talk, "are there any names of places that include any of the clues?"

"Definitely not Rumpelstiltskin," said Helene, thinking hard. "I don't think swamp is in anything… No, wait… Swamp Bottom! But that's where…"

"What is it?" asked Chihiro. Perhaps Helene had figured it out. But Helene only had one thing to say:

"Yubaba!"


	9. Chapter the Last

**Disclaimer:** …

Author's Notes: Yes, this is the final chapter. Please read&review! Should I make a sequal?^^

* * *

**Chapter 8**

* * *

"Don't you worry, Haku. The little pipsqueak will be here any minute now. I'll let you live long enough to see her fail." Yubaba was torturing him again. She'd done it so much that it was beginning to get as old as Yubaba was herself.

Haku clenched his teeth as if he was a dragon. Unfortunately, he couldn't transform.

"Don't give me that look! It's your own fault. If you'd have just turned her into me in the first place-"

There was a knock on the door.

Yubaba smiled.

The guests are here," she said with an evil grin, "and now the fun begins." Yubaba left Haku and went to answer the door. He heard the door open, and at once the air was filled with shouts.

"So that's why one of the clues was 'cottage,'" Chihiro said as she and Helene walked towards Zeniba's house. Helene knew what was going on now. She couldn't wait to throw a punch at Yubaba.

They knocked on the door and waited. The door opened, and when the girls looked to see who it was, no one was there.

"Hmm…" said Helene. "They're probably hiding somewhere."

As soon as the two had stepped into the room, the net, which they had been unknowingly standing on, went up, and they were trapped. Chihiro started shouting for help. Yubaba had to laugh.

"So I see you've made it this far. Well, since you made it this far, I might as well tell you who the kidnapper is: me!" Then she told them everything (except the fact that the accident Chihiro had been in was her fault): how she had kidnapped Haku and Zeniba and then disguised herself as Zeniba, of how she made up the clues and tests, and of how she had made the wind snatch up Chihiro's hair-tie.

"You see, I did get my revenge!"

"Where is Haku?" shouted Helene. Suddenly she disappeared out of the net and reappeared chained to the wall. Then the net disappeared, and Chihiro landed on the floor with a bump.

"Chihiro, you must take one more test. If you win, you shall be returned home-"

"And you will set all these people free, go back to where you came from, and never return."

"All right. But if you lose… you're mine!" Yubaba said. Chihiro had no idea what the test would be like, but she figured it couldn't be worse than anything else she'd already done in this world.

"Okay, I'm ready to take this test of yours," Chihiro said.

Yubaba disappeared through a door on the back wall. Chihiro looked around and realized that this house was like any house in the human world.

A long table accompanied by two long benches was in the middle of the large room. A stove, sink, and oven sat on the left side of the table, and a large spinning wheel was placed to the right. Pots and pans of all shapes and sizes hung from racks on the ceiling. Finally, Yubaba returned.

"This is Haku," she said, thrusting the boy at Chihiro. "Tell me where you first met him."

Haku looked up at Chihiro's puzzled face. He wanted to grab her shoulders and shake her until she remembered, but then he considered the fact that Yubaba had Chihiro's memory. Yubaba told him that he could say one thing to Chihiro. If he said anything else, she'd hurt Chihiro.

"Chihiro," he said, choosing his words carefully, "go over to that table and take the box with the black lock on it." Chihiro stared at him, but walked over to the table anyways. She found the box with the black lock.

It was sort of small, so she put it in her pocket. Yubaba screamed.

A magic beam projected out of her hand, heading strait for Chihiro.

"No!" Helene and Haku shouted at the same time. Surprisingly, the beam just bounced off Chihiro and vanished.

"What?" the other three said. Chihiro sat down, the tiny locked box still in her pocket.

"I… I met Haku…" she said, trying to remember. Yubaba smiled, Helene frowned with doubt, and Haku silently prayed.

"Wait… I dropped my shoe into a river when I was little… and then I fell in trying to get it back… I thought I would drown, but the water carried me back to shore… No, a… a… a dragon carried me back to shore, and I think that's Haku!"

"NOOOOOOOOOOO!" Yubaba screamed as she vanished. A key chain appeared, and then it changed into the real Zeniba. Helene's chains disappeared. Chihiro turned to the others.

"Chihiro!" Zeniba cried as she ran over and hugged her. Chihiro stared for a moment, then smiled.

"Granny!" After that Chihiro went over to Haku.

"Chihiro," he said, "take out the little box and open it."

Chihiro took it out and noticed that the black lock was gone, and when she opened it, a beam of light shown into the room. A tiny golden ball of light sat in the box. Haku took it out and placed it to Chihiro's forehead. At once, memories began to rush at her.

"Haku, I remember! I remember! I remember the first time I came here, and my parents… Oh, I remember!"

She ran up and hugged him. He smiled.

"I remember thinking that I'd never see you again, and here you are," she said with happiness. She held him tightly for a long time, until she noticed Helene backing away.

"Haku," she said, "there's someone I'd like you to meet."

She took Haku over to Helene and placed his hand in hers.

"Haku meet Helene," she said.

"Oh, Haku," cried Helene, tears in her eyes, "you look just the same as you did years ago. Mama would be so proud if she was still alive!"

"Do I know… Mama? What is going on?" Haku asked, very confused.

"Haku, please tell me you remember! Please!" She looked desperate.

Haku stared at her and though. Then he felt the memory of another time and place run through his head.

"Helene!" he said as he through his arms around her. "I remember you! My sister… I'm sorry I couldn't save you. I should've never made that wish!"

"But Haku," said Helene, "if you hadn't made that wish, Chihiro could've drowned because you wouldn't have been there to save her."

"True," Haku agreed. "Now, we must get Chihiro home."

* * *

Chihiro waved good-bye as she ran over the grassy field towards the tunnel. Haku promised he would find away to see Chihiro again, but unfortunately, Helene would never be able to leave because she was stuck in the middle of a deal that couldn't be undone.

The tunnel's warmth cheered her up as she walked back towards the woods. She ran down the dirt path and then ran to the school.

Chihiro's relatives weren't angry, just disappointed in her. They were soon happy to know that she got her memory back, though.

Chihiro didn't get detention, although she did have to stay after class once a week and help her teacher straiten up the room. She also had to partake in the sixth grade spelling bee. She didn't win, even though no one had expected her to.

Chihiro became more active in school that year. The children stopped hating her, and soon she was surrounded by a huge group of friends.

She never lost track of her hair-tie again. She kept in the tiny golden box.

At the end of school that year, Chihiro received an award for most improved.

She always wondered what would happen if she went back through the tunnel again, but she decided not to. Haku promised that they would meet again someday, and she didn't question that.

He had never said when, so Chihiro expected that he would appear by her bed just before she died.

"Chihiro, time's up," her uncle called. A month after she had graduated from sixth grade, her relatives had taken her back to the riverbed where the Kohaku River had once flowed.

"Coming!" she called back. Haku wasn't there again.

"Come on sweetie, your aunt's going to be late!"

Chihiro looked up at the clouds and smiled. Even if she didn't find him today, there was always tomorrow.


End file.
